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Hinda Motivates With Undisputed Leader Program
December 01, 2008
By Andrea Doyle
Incentive programs at Fortune 500 companies, multinational conglomerates, high-tech giants…these are the types this magazine ordinarily features. One industry that hasn't been recently featured is the one most likely to use large, well-planned incentive programs: incentive houses themselves.
December's issue of Incentive looks at the incentive houses ITAGroup, Maritz and Rymax, (see full story here at incentivemag.com on Dec 4) but another major industry player with an impressive internal program is Hinda Incentives.
"What is important to our clients is what makes their jobs easier. Hinda exceeds the expectations of the program participants,ensuring problems do not occur and our client is delighted with our service." This quote is emblazoned on a sign that hangs above the warehouse exit at Hinda's Chicago headquarters. The words were first delivered during a company meeting by Michael Arkes, Hinda’s CEO. Hinda is a privately held, family-owned business that evolved from a consumer electronics distributor to a full-service incentive company. Established in April 1970 by two brothers, Ben and Nate Arkes, the company was named in honor of their mother, Hinda, who passed away when they were teenagers. Ben's youngest son, Michael, joined the company in June of that year and took over leadership in 1986 when Nate suffered a heart attack. Nate remained president until his death in 1994.
Today, Hinda has 115 full-time employees who are motivated by an employee-managed best practices program called Undisputed Leader, its intent being to establish Hinda as the undisputed leader in the services it provides. The hope is that the quality and innovation differential between Hinda and competitors will assist in both customer retention and new customer acquisition.
There are stated, measurable objectives for the program that are selected quarterly and monitored and measured on a monthly basis. Consistent achievement of these goals results in quarterly awards for all employees in the company.
The goals in the program are dynamic. They change based on customer needs and desires as well as increases in activity and overall volume. Some of the goals have focused on backorders, shipping and order entry. Other goals that have been monitored and measured during the program cover initiatives such as customer satisfaction surveys, updating of online award catalogs, recording of customer service inquiries and response time, accurate completion of paperwork for new account setup and monitoring performance of drop-ship suppliers.
"Having a quality best practices program in place, especially with positive results, supports the quality initiatives of many prospects and clients who appreciate the efforts and the fact we 'practice what we preach,'" explains Michael Arkes. "The ultimate goal for everyone involved is recognizing the impact the Undisputed Leader program has on our valued customers, their program participants and our overall business. The importance in exceeding the participant's expectations with prompt reward delivery and flawless execution of our services is emphasized to all. We measure program criteria that directly impact the customer, for example, how quickly we enter and ship orders. However, throughout the program duration, an emphasis has been placed on the fact that all departments have an impact on quality service. A favorite example shared is, 'If accounts payable does not pay the manufacturer's invoices on time, there would be no merchandise to ship. If the accounts receivable staff does not do their job well, there would be no cash available to pay the suppliers.' Every Hinda employee understands that they impact our ability to provide quality service and are rewarded for our achievements."
The Undisputed Leader program has been operating since 2004 and continues to be an important part of the culture at Hinda. A program scoreboard, which keeps employees apprised of goal achievement, hangs in the employee lunchroom. Results are posted on a monthly basis, and employees are encouraged to review them, with the possibility of receiving additional award points or a preselected merchandise award for completing an online quiz.
Promotional items with the program logo help build and maintain high awareness. Employees have received mouse pads, Post-it notes, soup mugs, and water bottles. Coffee mugs filled with candy are distributed to visitors and as thank-you gifts to prospects during meetings. The program is also promoted in presentations and meetings with customers to emphasize Hinda's commitment to exceeding expectations and its strong focus on continuous improvement.
All Hinda employees, including management, office staff, warehouse workers and sales, are included in the program that is overseen by a group of non-management employees representing all departments. Team leaders head committees within the group that are assigned to specific objectives and goals.
Having representatives from all departments provides input from all areas, and also allows departments to have a better understanding of each other's roles, issues and challenges in meeting objectives in the program. This also provides a "fresh set of eyes" for viewing existing processes, resulting in new suggestions on ways to improve. Employees exhibit greater confidence and engage themselves in processes they would have overlooked in the past.
Active participation in the group has also developed new leaders within the company. Two excellent committee members came from sales administration/order entry. Because of their contributions on the committee, their untapped abilities were recognized, and they have been rewarded with additional responsibilities and increased compensation.
An annual meeting with employees is held in November at Hinda headquarters to announce the results of the prior fiscal year and to recognize company achievements. During a company anniversary celebration held each spring, milestone anniversaries of employees are announced and certificates presented.
"Every individual in the company is important to the success of the program. Each person is looked upon as an Undisputed Leader, as it takes the efforts of all to make Hinda the Undisputed Leader," says Arkes.
Relationships with key suppliers and service providers are important, and Hinda has an awards program in place, the Golden Carrot, that recognizes two suppliers annually, one whose products Hinda stocks, the other who drop-ships directly to recipients. During The Motivation Show each fall, these awards are presented to Hinda's top suppliers.
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